Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Smart has announced their volume based LTE plans. It's for those who want to do more with less time but want to save. Do more because LTE let's you load internet stuff super fast and this is from my personal experience and with this, you save time. You can also save money and you'll know why in a bit. People nowadays are afraid of anything not unlimited because we are used to "unli" but the fact is, can we really consume that much? In the end, these new Turbo plans might save you money.

Here's a sample. I've been using my iPhone 6 Plus from Smart for nearly 3 months. Over that period, I've only consumed 3.5GB. Why? Because when you are at home, you usually use WiFi. When you are in the office, you can also use WiFi. For strict offices who do not allow access using personal devices, how much can you really consume during those hours if you are busy? When in a restaurant, a lot already offer free WiFi. Malls also offer free WiFi connection. So, when can you really use mobile data? Travel to and from the office, idle hours when outside, waiting in line (can't even use it inside banks here in the Philippines), etc.

This explain why I've only used 3.5GB and take note that I didn't limit myself or anything. I used my data connection as much as I can because of the LTE connection and I consumed just that. The battery of the iPhone 6 Plus improved a lot, which even spoiled me into using data connection often.

Using my sample above, the current available plan is P999 a month for unlimited LTE. I assume that they will be removing that soon and replace it with the Turbo Plans. Supposing I use 3.5GB in 3 months, I only average less than 1.2GB per month and basing it on the new plans, I can save P200 pesos a month because I only need to pay P799 a month! Here's the plan matrix for the new Turbo Plans:

What are the difference between the 2 plans?
Turbo Plus allows users to do UNLIMITED light casual activities like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google Search, Web Browsing, Chat, Emails, etc. The specified allocated data would only go to streaming of videos and music, downloading or uploading files -- more on for heavier internet activities.

Turbo Max plans on the other hand allows you to fully consume whatever data is allocated to you but once you've used up the specified data allocation, it's done. For both plans, you can purchase additional data called "Big Bytes volume add-on" just in case there will be months you'd need more than the usual via http://smart.com.ph/brodashboard

If you ask me, I'm more keen on getting the Turbo Max plans because I wouldn't even be able to finish 3GB a month using my smartphone. If you would prefer not to be encased with what we might think is very limited but is not, Turbo Plus is the way to go. (You also get a free device with some plans. Visit the site specified below to know more.)